Shield Bash Balance

Was thinking about the whole knight combat thing and the need to balance strategy (e.g. a RPS setup) with skill (e.g. timing, spacing, terrain, etc.) and I came up with this:

The KAG combat-pretzel


Basically, the idea is to prevent any one of the primary offensive styles (slashing, bashing or jabbing) from having an easy monopoly on combat (by introducing a RPS setup) but require that successful application of countermeasures involves a certain level of skill (necessitating good timing, application of spacing and clever use of terrain, feinting, etc.).

To meet the above need of skill and strategy as elements each offensive action has two things it bests and two things that can be used against it (giving variation/range/flavour to battles rather than each move having a single, predictable, counter). Additionally, there is a natural skill progression from left to right as new players begin with the obvious actions (shielding, slashing, jabbing) and then as their skill and tactical awareness grows they move towards using techniques that Henry doesn't teach you (shield-bashing, double-slashing and the dodge & jab combo).

Some examples of your options if an opponent is favouring a particular offensive style (strategy related underlined, skill related italicised. For each case option a) tends to be easier but less effective than option b)):

• Slashing. You could either a) control the distance between you and wear them down using jabs; or b) carefully time shield-bashes to give you openings for retaliation.
• Shield-bashing. You could either a) manage your distance and slash/double-slash; or b) anticipate with a well-timed dodge & jab combo.
• Nooby jab-spamming. You could either a) shield & jab combo [shield until they back off with the intention of slashing you whereupon you close the gap and jab]; or b) shield-bash the noob off a cliff (or, if there's no lethal height to push them off, just charge a slash while they're micro stunned).

And of course things like utilising available terrain, anticipating/faking-out an opponent, etc. mean that it's rarely a case of "Oh, he's using X, I can respond with Y or Z", but rather "Oh, he's using X, I can respond with Y or Z; or I could do N which would change the power balance and allow me to use X"...

What do you think? Is the combat-pretzel dynamic in the ballpark of what we're aiming for?

{edit}
Of course, for the pretzel to become a reality the whole shield-bashing a slash (or a jab for that matter) thing really needs to be ironed out (maybe something along the lines of BL's suggestion about 'windows' of opportunity & varied stun lengths?).